Local Blogs

About this blog: I am a native of Alameda County, grew up in Pleasanton and currently live in the house I grew up in that is more than 100 years old. I spent 39 years in the daily newspaper business and wrote a column for more than 25 years in add... (More)

About this blog: I am a native of Alameda County, grew up in Pleasanton and currently live in the house I grew up in that is more than 100 years old. I spent 39 years in the daily newspaper business and wrote a column for more than 25 years in addition to writing editorials for more than 15 years. I have served as a director of many non-profits in the Valley and the broader Bay Area and currently serve as chair of Teen Esteem and on the advisory board of Shepherd?s Gate. I also served as founding chair of Heart for Africa and have travelled to Africa seven times to serve on mission trips. My wife, Betty Gail, has taught at Amador Valley High (from where we both graduated) since 1981. She and I both graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, as did both of my parents and my three siblings. Given that Cal tradition, our daughter went south to the University of Southern California and graduated with a degree in international relations. Since graduation, she has taken three mission trips and will be serving in the Philippines for nine months starting in September. (Hide)

Will the new tax law chase wealthy Californians out?

Uploaded: Sep 18, 2018

Is the limitation on state and local sales tax deductions brought about by the 2017 federal tax reform going to motivate wealthy Californians to leave the state?
Next year, when they file taxes, the impact on their checkbooks will be obvious. Will that prompt an exodus to states with no state income tax like Nevada, Florida, Texas or Washington? The same calculation is going on in the Northeast in high-tax states such as New York and New Jersey.
Here in California, given the price of housing in the Bay Area and the high wages paid in the technology and other industries, the state income tax for highest earners is 13.3 percent. Losing that deduction is causing some affluent families to think about moving.
The San Francisco Business Times devoted a major story about this trend in late August and there’s other anecdotal evidence.
One friend told me that a leading real estate broker in Blackhawk told him that seven of the 10 last sales were by families leaving the state.
And then there’s the Nevada addresses. The Business Times cited an Incline Village, NV Realtor reporting a big upturn in Californians looking for year-round homes in that exclusive area.
CalMatters Columnist Dan Walters reported this earlier this summer, “David Hutchinson, who developed the Clear Greek golf community on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe, told the Journal, “Most of our lot sales are to buyers from California, the vast majority of whom intend to make them a permanent residence.”
Someone earning $3 million a year could move his or her personal home from San Francisco to Tahoe, Hutchinson said, and save $399,000 a year in taxes, adding, “That’s a lot of money to spend on real estate.”
The gated Clear Creek Community, which features a showcase golf course by designers Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore, is located right off Highway 50 on the Nevada side of Spooner Summit. From there, it’s an easy run in the summer to Lake Tahoe or down into Carson City for groceries or to either side of Heavenly Valley Ski Resort.
The Clear Creek developers built the golf course prior to the financial crisis in 2008-09 and kept it operating while delaying the sale of any lots for custom homes. Home sales started in 2017 and have ramped up this year. The Nevada address, coupled with the excellent golf course and other amenities, give it a competitive advantage over wonderful Truckee private golf course communities with California zip codes for year-round residents.

Posted by Michael Austin,
a resident of Pleasanton Meadows,
on Sep 18, 2018 at 7:43 pm

In all my years, I wrote one check to the IRS.
At tax filing deadline.
This year, for the first time in my life I am writing five checks to the IRS.
A check each quarter, and a check at tax filing dead line.

Posted by DKHSK,
a resident of Bridle Creek,
on Sep 18, 2018 at 10:43 pmDKHSK is a registered user.

Michael,

My comment was not directed at you, it was directed at those who have voted for tax increases or supported tax and fee increases through deed and word: mainly democrats and socialists, though I repeat myself.

My gut tells me that they will be the ones complaining the loudest and judging from past discussions here on PW, I think I'm right.

I'm not a high wage earner...actually I'm retired and I'm bound for Henderson, NV. Most of the people and family I know who are leaving are simply middle class people who are becoming fed up with CA taxes, much of which are hidden, not the Federal Tax changes, and creeping communism that is supported by the Democrat Party. DKHSK is right.